"Peter Rabbit" film leaves some viewers in shock

by Sarah Morris - Copy Editor

Tue, Feb 20th 2018 09:00 pm

It seems nowadays, more than ever, people are walking on eggshells as to not upset the nearest nobody who thinks they’re entitled to special treatment because they’ve been told their whole life that they are more than perfect just for trying. Despite being one in 7.442 billion on earth, those people believe their worthless voices deserve to be heard. Because of this, and the wildfire that is social media, those without their own opinions cling to other peoples’ own ridiculous accusations of being offended by the littlest of things, and those people love to make a big deal over whatever they’re angry about that day/week/month.

Some of those people are the ones involved with No Appetite for Bullying (NAB), an organization that focuses on “fighting” prejudice against those with food allergies. I, nor anyone I know, has ever seen or heard anything that even implies inequality between those with and those without food allergies.

The organization's website, which actually exists, promises to “raise awareness of food-allergy bullying with the goal of creating solutions and encouraging food allergy acceptance.”

Their motto? “Together, we can help put a stop to food allergy bullying.”

Why does this matter? Well it appears that NAB has joined forces with other allergy awareness organizations and concerned suburban moms, with their choppy bobs, red wine and book clubs, to boycott “Peter Rabbit” over a “controversial” scene that promotes “food bullying.”

In the film adaptation of the classic children’s book, “Peter Rabbit”, there is a scene where Peter and his furry friends are battling a human, Mr. McGregor, and use his blackberry allergy against him to win. They sling the berries in his mouth, causing him to have a severe allergic reaction.

People who have a problem with this are boycotting the movie, saying it’s not only “anxiety-provoking,” but it could lead to death, as children might see the scene and make light of serious allergies. In response, Sony Pictures released an apology statement for the scene.

“Food allergies are a serious issue,” the statement read. “Our film should not have made light of Peter Rabbit's arch nemesis, Mr. McGregor, being allergic to blackberries, even in a cartoonish, slapstick way. We sincerely regret not being more aware and sensitive to this issue, and we truly apologize.”

The Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America claims that the scene in the film suggests that food allergies are “made up for attention” and this was a form of “allergy bullying,” calling them diseases.

No. Let’s get one thing straight: allergies are not diseases. You’re not “sick” if you occasionally choke up because you swallowed some cinnamon. Some allergies are far more worse and can even result in death, yes, but that does not give them the right to claim they have an actual disease. That’s why, when we were kids, we were all taught how some allergies, specifically peanut allergies, can be dangerous and to always take precautions around those with food allergies. That’s just common sense we’ve all had our whole lives. Plus, the scene itself doesn’t seem to be something that’ll make kids want to go out and cause someone pain. In fact, after the whole fiasco, Mr. McGregor uses his epinephrine pen and is able to breathe again. If anything, this bit of exposure to the dangers of what happens when someone with a food allergy ingests something that could harm them can be seen at as a good thing.

One problem society has now is how parents handle their children so delicately. They shield them from everything bad in the world and expect them to come out the other side grateful for the ignorance their parents have caused them. It’s like the parents who don’t want to vaccinate their children because of all the “risks.” The vaccines have a little bit of the disease in it so the child will build up an immunity (since, you know, that’s how real diseases work) and not get sick; however, if parents don’t vaccinate their children, then they’ll be more vulnerable to deadly diseases. Surprise Mom and Dad, your kid has measles and now they’re dead.

Though the situation isn’t as severe as measles, the scene in “Peter Rabbit” is like a vaccination for kids who need to know the dangers of food allergies. I’m not saying go see the movie, just don't boycott it because you‘re scared your child might catch a few “germs.”